Spring hub



Mar. e, 1923. 1,447,410

H. N. BROWN SPRING HUB Filed om 24, 1921 2 sheets-sheen 1 HARRY/Ww frfeow PER 111%;

Mar. 6, 1923.

. H N; BROWN SPRING HUB Filed Oct. 24, 1921 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Mar. 6, i923.

heelal@ "Heiner NEWMAN snows, or PETERBOROUGH, ENGLAND.

SPR-ING HUB.

g Application filed october 24.-, 1921. Serial No. 510,013.

l'To all eowmfimay concern:

Be it known that kI, HARRY QllnwMAN BROWN, subject of the King of Great Britainv and Ireland, residing at 22, Lincoln Roadpeterborough, in the county of Northamptonshire, England,y have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring Hubs, of which the following is a specification. j

My invention relates to an improved construction of spring hubs for wheels, pulleys and the like and has for its object to provide a resilient construction of hub" toiallow the -absorption of road shocks and also to provide a cushion drive or shock absorber for the transmission of power from the hub to the wheel rim in theV casel of wheels for vehicles and simply to provide a cushion drive or shockl absorber to permit of the resilient transmission of power from the hub to the rim or vice versa in the case of pulleys and` the like.

Accordingto this invention the rim of the wheel or pulley is mounted so as to be free to turn upon thehub and concave or wedge shaped recesses are provided `in the hub and the portion of the rim located thereon and steel pulleys or rollers are provided betweenthe adjacent recesses to co-operate therewith so as to 'move Vthe parts of the hub or. the like transversely against the action of suitable springs thus effecting an absorption of roador transmission shocksor both. In applying my invention to a resilient wheel for vehicles therim ofthe wheelI is .provided with'a pair of side plates mounted.

so as to rotate freelybetween a pair of flanges on the hub. These side plates are secured to each other at a fixed distance apart and apair of lslidable plates are mounted between them on the hub of the wheel and adapted to slide ina lateral direction but not to rotate thereon. These "slidable plates and the fixed plates on the wheel rim are each` provided with oppositely facing conical recesses andV steel'balls are placed between these pairs of recesses so Athat ywhenthev rim of the wheel and its plates tend to move relatively to the hub either in a circumferential or up and down direction these balls will ride up the sides ofthe conical recesses` and so cause the slidable plateson the hub to be pressedyin a lateral direction. `Suitable springs or other resilient'n'ieans 'are provided to `oppose the movement of these plates thus effecting an absorption of the shocks transmitted from the rim of the wheel to the hub or vice versa.

When applying my invention to a pulley, gear wheel or the like for the transmission of power the pulley vis mounted upon a bearing on the hub so as to be Vfree to rotate thereon concentrically with its axis and so as to absorb transmission shocks between the rim of the pulley and the hub;

In a modification the hub of the pulley may be provided with. a number of radial blocks mounted in guides so as to be capable of sliding radially against the action of suitable springs or other resilient means.

Vledge shaped recesses; are provided between these blocks and the `pulley and balls or rollers are located therein Aso as to `co-operate with the wedge shaped recesses to absorb transmission 'shocks between the rim ofthe hub and the pulley.

In order that my invention may be more readily understood reference is Vmadefto the accompanying sheets of illustrative drawings in which Fig. l is a side elevation partly in section of a convenientconstruction of hub `for the wheels of vehicles adapted to absorb both road and transmission shocks.

Fig. 2 is a half cross section of the same and Fig. 3 is a half end elevation.

. Fig. 4L is a half cross section through a pulley for transmitting power by means of a belt drive and provided with al hub con-` structed accordingto my invention so as to Vabsorb transmission shocks.

' shows a construction of hub suitable for the which the wheel Vis to be used.

Upon the. exterior of the hubcentre 1 is` wheels of motor cycles or like road vehicles but which may readily be modified to pro-- vide a construction suitable for practically all other forms of vehicles. 1n this case the centre 1 of the hub is mounted to rotate upon a fixed spindle 2 upon ball bearings 3 in the well known manner andl a pair of fixed flanges 4 are secured upon fixed hub centre 1 by screw threaded nuts 5.

Between the two flanges l are mounted a pair of fixed side plates 6 so as to be free to move relativelyto the flanges l both in a 'circumferential and radial direction but lo-` t cated laterally so as to prevent side play.

Between these side plates 6 is located a tnhular `distance piece 7 which forms a casing for the hub and they are secured by a series of transverse bolts which lock themtogether at a fixedv distance apart. The rimand tread of the wheel 4are mounted upon these vside plates 6 vby means of wire spo-kes in the case of a wire wheel, suitable discs in the case of a disc Wheel and wooden spokes for an artillery wheel or in any other suitable manner in accordance. with the purpose for provided a series of transverse keyways 8 and a pair of slidable plates 9 are mounted on this hub centre 1 and provided with teeth 10 which engage in the keyways 8 so that the plates 9 are keyed upon ythe hub I centre 1, but free to slide thereon* in a lat f springs 12 and are intended to act as auxiliary or buffer springs which come into operation only when heavy shocks require to be absorbed i l A series of'hollow steel cones lo and 16 are secured yin holes 17 and 18 in the fixed plates 6 and the slidable plates 9 respectively. These hollow steel cones 15 and 16 are arranged in pairs so that one member of each pair is located in one of the fixed side plates 6` and the other in one 'ofthe slidable plates 9 and their hollow conical ends face .toward each other and between them. are located steel balls 19 asE shown more particularly in Figure 2. 4

The operation of the hub yis as follows Ifa `shock be transmitted from the rim of the wheel either in a radial direction through striking an obstruction on the road or in a vcircumferential direction owing to irregularity in the' transmission of the power7 the fixed plates 6 upon which the rim of the wheel is'mounted, `will tend to move relatively to the slidable plates 9 eitherl in a radial or circumferential direction. 1n

both cases this will cause the oppositely fac-` ing hollow steel cones 15 and 16 to-move relatively to each other so that their centres are displaced. The steel ball 19 will thus be caused to ride upon the` conical sides of the recesses in these cones and-.will causeithe slidable lplates 9 'to be pressed toward each other againstfthe action 'of the springs' 12. 1f the shock iso-f a-suliiciently heavynature the plates'9 will moveto such an eX- tent as to `engage against the springs 13 which will thus be brought into use to resist any further movement and thus enable the absorption of the heavier shocks. TWhen the shock has been absorbed the balls 19v will again become located between the centres of the cones owing to the springs'` 12 and 13 tending to press the slidable plates 9v apart thus causing the balls to move toward the greatest depth of the cones 15 and 16. lt

will thus be seen that both road and transmission shocksv will beeffectively andv resiliently absorbed and damped out; each and all of the hollow cones 15 and 16 and the springs 12 and 13 co-operating vto produce this effect and *actingV to produce a smooth v the two portions of the hub s-o that the shocks are distributed betweenl all the springs 12 and if necessary the auxiliary springs 18. 1

Suitable packing 2O isprovided upon the inner face of the flanges 4t so as to Vbear against the outer faces of thefixeddiscs 6 carrying the rim `of the wheel. This packing 2O serves to retain lubricant'within ythe hub so as to ensure its free operation.

Referring to Figures 4f, 5 and 6 these show a suitable construction "for application'to a driving pulley for the transmission of power bya belt. v f p The hub centre 1" in this case is intended "to be attached ldirectly to the shaftupon which the pulley is to be mounted. Recesses 21 are provided upon opposite endsof this hub centre 1 forthe .receptionof Side plates 22 adapted to rotate in the recessesm21 which act ,as bearings therefor. These side vpla-tes 22 are Xed in the supplementary hub 23 of the pulley casting 2a which carries the and soft relative motion between` pulley'rim 25 for thereception of the belt v orother driving means. The periphery of the centre hub 1 between the recesses 21 on its end is provided with transverse keyways as previously described with reference to pair of slidable plates 26 are provided with similar teeth which engage therein and these plates 26 are resiliently pressed apart by means of springs 27 located at theirl ends on pins 28 on the -plates 26.

The side plates 22 shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6 are provided with a circumferential projection 29 which engages between theouter face of the central hub and the hub centre l and the inner face of the supplementary hub 23 of the pulley 24 and a series of wedge shaped circumferential depressions 30 are provided in this projection and in the outer tace or' each of the slidable plates 26. Steel balls 3l are located in these recesses between the slidable plates 26 and the side plates 22 so that relative rotation between pulley 24 carrying side plates 22 and the hub centre l carrying` slidable plates 26, will cause the balls 3l to ride along these wedge shaped depressions so as to force the two slidable plates 26 toward each otherv against the action orp the springs 27 tending to torce them apart. The pins 28 upon which the ends of these springs are located, are made of a suitable length to limit the movement of the side plates 26; their ends coming in Contact with each other when this limit ot movement has been reached.` By this means transmission shocks between the rim and hub of the pulley will be resiliently absorbed, thus decreasing wear and tear upon the machinery and-the belts or other transmission gearing and so increasing its life and effecting a smoother transmission.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, the hub centre l is provided with a number of recesses 32 in each of which is located a block 33 adapted to slide in a radial direction therein against the action of springs 34. The supplementary hub 23 of the pulley 24 is mounted directly upon the hub centre l and wedge shaped recesses 35 areprovided in the inner face of the supplementary hub 23 and the outer ends of the slidable blocks 33, and steel or other rollersl 36 are located in these depressions. Relative rotation between the pulley 24 and the hub centre l, will cause these rollers to slide over the wedge shaped recesses so as to force the slidable blocks 33 inwardly in'a radial direction against the action of the springs' 34, thus absorbing transmission shocks between the hub and pulley.

I claim.

l. In a spring wheel the lcombination ol. a hub, transverse keyways in said hub, laterally movable side plates engaging in said keyways springs acting between said side plates, a rim member, side plates associated with said rim member, inclined sided recesses in said side plates on the rim and in the side plates on the hub and rotary members engaging between said recesses.

2. In a spring wheel the combination of a hub, transverse keyways in said hub, laterally movable side plates engaging in said keyways springs acting' between said side plates, fixed side plates on said hub, a rim member, side plates associated with said rim member, said side plates being disposed between the fixed and movable side plates on the hub, inclined sided recesses in said side plates on the rim and in the laterally movable side plates on the hub, and rotary members engaging between said recesses.

3. In a spring wheel, the combination of a hub, transverse keyways in said hub, movable plates engaging in said leyways,

springs acting on said plates, a rim member,

portions associated with said rim member having inclined sided recesses, said movable plates also having inclined sided recesses, and rotary members located between said recesses.

HARRY NEWMAN BROWN. 

